Here’s a revolutionary new way surfer’s can buy and sell their surfboards (and I’m not talking about a new category on E-bay). Central Coast surfer Matt Bignold is the founder of the website Boardbound.com.au Matt has introduced an easier, more efficient way for surfers to order custom, new or used sticks. As well as sell that board we no longer want. I sat down with Matt to find out just what the heck his one-of-a-kind website is all about. Listen up.

So, Matt How did the idea come about?

Well, I was learning how to fix all my dinged and broken boards. That night I woke up with an idea to sell just boards online. When I started researching, I noticed there was also no site dedicated to snow, kite, bodyboard, stand up paddle, nipper or sand board’s either. Once I started getting ideas on how much it was going to cost to get the site online and designed the way I wanted, I actually had to take a step back because I realised this wasn’t an overnight project to get started. More like a couple of week’s work and a few thousand bucks. As it turned out it took more like a year and I’ve only just started to get the site out there and running smoothly. And I’m pleased with the response of over 10,200 hits in the first month online.

The site has some pretty impressive involvements. What exactly does it feature? And how does it work?

Boardbound.com.au is like a trading post just for boards. Surf skate snow wake sand and Kite. Once you’re on Boardbound.com.au you can buy or sell any board (new or used) from all over Australia. Unlike other sites it’s not an auction website – the buyer and seller deal directly with each other. There is a custom section too where you can select a shaper, then fill in a standard custom form with the option for a digital and airbrush artist for the boards design – once completed this goes directly to the shaper. Basically you can order a board from your living room. I have also set up a forum for registered users to comment on local news and happenings within the boarding industry. You can also post local comp results, photos and videos, anything of interest.

Who else is showing interest?

Along with the public and custom shapers, Boardbound.com.au is also working with board stores to give them another avenue to sell their products over the internet, through a board specific website. It gives them the opportunity to promote their stores Australia wide and offer exclusive online deals.

What else have you got in store for the site?

Over the next few months I am looking to add more features, I’m currently looking to get a courier company on board to set up exclusive deals for Boardbound.com.au users. I am also in the process of setting up surf snow and wind reports as added options for the site. Basically, I want Boardbound.com.au to be the site that everyone looks to, to sell there boards, because it is simple to use, cheap and effective.

By Spencer Hornby

http://www.boardbound.com.au/